We Love the Venerable House

We love the ve­ne­ra­ble house

Our fa­thers built to God;

In Heav­en are kept their grate­ful vows

Their dust en­dears the sod.

Here ho­ly thoughts a light have shed

From ma­ny a ra­di­ant face

And pray­ers of hum­ble vir­tue spread

The per­fume of the place.

And anx­ious hearts have pon­dered here

The mys­te­ry of life

And prayed th’eter­nal Light to clear

Their doubts and aid their strife.

From hum­ble te­ne­ments around

Came up the pen­sive train

And in the church a bless­ing found

That filled their homes again.

For faith

and peace

and migh­ty love

That from the God­head flow

Showed them the life of Heav­en ab­ove

Springs from the life be­low.

They live with God

their homes are dust;

Yet here their child­ren pray

And in this fleet­ing life­time trust

To find the nar­row way.